News and insider tips about travel in the United States and to International destinations. Visits to exotic locations and unexpected adventures. Restaurant reviews. Secrets known only to locals. My travel articles also appear in Luxury Travel Magazine, New York Daily News & Westways Magazine

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On our delivery flight from Seattle to Doha, the coach cabins were completely empty. Only 20 business class seats were occupied on the 259 seat Boeing 777-200LR. But we weren't complaining. We relaxed, slept, read, and watched movies.

When we arrived in Doha in the afternoon, the pilot announced that we would make an approach low over the field but not land. We assumed this was the airplane's "salute" to its new home. We discovered it was something else entirely. Traditionally, the first time a new model of an aircraft is delivered to Qatar Airways, fire trucks welcome the plane with an archway of water. Since our plane was the second Boeing 777-200LR, there would be no ceremony.

When we flew low over the field we saw that we were in fact getting a welcoming. There were a hundred or more yellow jacketed men and women and dozens of men in traditional white Arabic robes and headdresses. When the plane landed, red carpeted stairs were pushed up to the plan…

On our delivery flight from Seattle to Doha, the coach cabins were completely empty and only 20 business class seats were occupied on the 259 seat Boeing 777-200LR. But we weren't complaining. We relaxed, slept, read, and watched movies.

When we arrived in Doha in the afternoon, the pilot announced that we would make an approach low over the field but not land. We assumed this was the airplane's "salute" to its new home. We discovered it was something else entirely. Traditionally, the first time a new model of an aircraft is delivered to Qatar Airways, fire trucks welcome the plane with an archway of water. Since our plane was the second Boeing 777-200LR, there would be no ceremony.

When we flew low over the field we saw that we were in fact getting a welcoming. There were a hundred or more yellow jacketed men and women and dozens of men in traditional white Arabic robes and headdresses. When the plane landed, red carpeted stairs were pushed up to the plane but we …

First impressions are important but sometimes they can be deceiving. When you pull up in front of the Qatar Airways' Premium Terminal in Doha, you'll think you're checking into a hotel because you are met at the curb by valets who load your bags onto luggage carriers.

Unless several flights are leaving at the same time, which can happen in the morning, there are no queues. A concierge leads you to a desk where you take a seat in a plush leather chair while an airline clerk relieves you of your bag and checks you in.

After a quick walk through security and a look through the Duty Free Shop, it's upstairs to the second floor lounges. Besides a fully serviced business center and conference rooms, there are men and women's prayer rooms, a children's play area and nursery, a room for families, and a video game room.

The Business Class and First Class Lounges have waiting areas with more of those comfortable leather chairs and a restaurant with a full buffet an…

I love the new car smell. Does an airplane have the same cool, sexy, absolutely fabulous fragrance as a car or is it something more, well, plane-like? Yesterday I had the unique pleasure of answering that question.

Qatar Airways invited half a dozen of us to come along on the delivery flight of their second Boeing 777-200LR, flying from Boeing Field outside Seattle to Doha International Airport, Qatar.

With Doha as its hub and routes already well established in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and, of course, the Middle East, the Boeing 777-200LR gives Qatar Airways a reach of 8,000 nautical miles, putting them in striking distance of just about any destination in the world.

Several years ago Qatar Airways pushed into the American market with non-stop service to New York and Washington, D.C. Starting March 30, 2009, the airline will begin flights between Houston and Doha. With service to Houston, they will strengthen their relationship with American energy businesses.